The efficacy and safety of massage therapy as an adjuvant in the treatment of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in neonates A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) has become a major problem that endangers the life and health of newborns. It is the most serious complication after neonatal asphyxia with a high mortality rate. Even survivors of HIE would suffer permanent neurological developmental impairment that seriously affects the growth and development in the future. Previous studies have shown that massage therapy can improve the prognosis of neonatal HIE. However, the efficacy of massage therapy on the growth, development, and sleep in neonates with HIE reported by various studies is inconsistent, which will be thoroughly assessed in this meta-analysis. Methods: Randomized controlled trials of massage therapy on the growth, development, and sleep neonates with HIE published before February 2022 will be retrieved from the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Clinical Trial Register. Literature selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses will be independently completed by 2 researchers. Meta-analysis will be performed by using RevMan5.4. Results: The results of this meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. Conclusion: This systematic review provides a high-quality synthesis to assess the effect of massage therapy on growth, development, and sleep in neonates with HIE. OSF registration number: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/G9WXN.